Oil Falls, Asian Stocks Rise Amid Improved Risk Sentiment

By Sherry Qin

Oil fell and Asian equities rose broadly early Tuesday as President Trump signaled his intent to unwind the Iran war with latest diplomatic efforts, boosting risk appetite across markets.

Risk sentiment rebounded as tentative signs of diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran helped restore a more positive tone, said Westpac analyst Ryan Wells in a note.

Trump held a closed-door meeting at the White House on Monday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to discuss Qatar's mediation efforts.

"We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict, and will ensure that America's interests are at all times protected," Trump said in a post on Truth Social after the meeting.

Trump added that he had "an excellent conversation" with the prime minister, a key mediator in the Iran war, and said further strikes "seem to be quite unlikely" though the U.S. is "'locked and loaded' and ready to go."

With Trump signaling little appetite for further escalation, the most likely scenario remains the status quo, ANZ Research analysts said in a note. The constraints already confronting the market could persist broadly through year-end: the Strait of Hormuz continues to operate below normal capacity, tanker availability remains tight and freight stays elevated, the analysts added.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures continued to drop in early Asian trading, last down 0.9% at $86.08 a barrel, after falling below $90 a barrel overnight. Front-month Brent futures were 0.7% lower at $91.92 a barrel.

Asian equities rallied broadly following Wall Street's gains overnight, as investors shook off a brutal market selloff last week and the headwinds of a spy scandal that ensnared Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang.

South Korea's Kospi was up 4.15% as the country's chip heavyweights jumped. Kospi futures climbed more than 5% in early trading, which triggered a five-minute trading halt. SK Hynix gained 5.8% and Samsung Electronics added 4.1%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average advanced 2.6% and Taiwan's Taiex rose 2.6%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6%.

Dip buyers likely stepped in to stem the bleeding from last week's brutal technology rout, said Tickmill Group's Patrick Munnelly.

The market is still navigating a three-pronged overhang despite the latest gains: continued de-risking from the crowded AI trade, skepticism over massive AI investment, and prospective regulatory headwinds from a Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress, he added.

Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2026 20:58 ET (01:58 GMT)